Authorities Fear Dam Failure in Puerto Rico; Evacuations Underway | The Weather Channel

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> https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-us-virgin-islands-dominica-caribbean-impacts <https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-us-virgin-islands-dominica-caribbean-impacts>
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> Authorities Fear Dam Failure in Puerto Rico; Evacuations Underway
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> Home Collapses on River Bank in Puerto Rico
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> Heavy rain from Hurricane Maria has caused many river to flood out of their banks, and causing nearby homes to collapse.
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> Story Highlights
> Authorities said at least 30 people have been killed in the Caribbean by Hurricane Maria.
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> Tens of thousands are without power in the Dominican Republic in the wake of the hurricane.
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> In Puerto Rico, vital supplies are running low in some towns – even in the shelters.
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> Damage is massive and more than a dozen people died on the island of Dominica, the prime minister announced.
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> Authorities say they fear a dam may fail at Lake Tao Vaca in northeast Puerto Rico, and evacuations are underway.
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> According to El Nuovo Dia, Mayor Javier Hernández of Villalba warned that Lake Toa Vaca is about to reach dangerous water levels. Authorities say they will not be able to stop the floodgates from opening automatically. The National Weather Service reported that buses are evacuating residents in harm's way.
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> The death toll is expected to continue to rise in the U.S. territory, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said. At least 13 people have died on the island or in nearby waters due to the hurricane. He told The Weather Channel they were attempting to reach the most remote areas of the island by helicopter, as travel has been crippled by debris and downed power lines on Puerto Rico's roads.
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> Much of the island is expected to be without power for weeks, and some areas may not have electricity restored for four to six months, officials said. In the northwestern Puerto Rico town of Isabela, Mayor Carlos Delgado Altieri told El Nuevo Dia that the shelters are running out of food <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/minutoaminutolaislaintentarecuperarsedelosestragosdemaria-2359627/> and may only have one or two days' worth remaining.
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> "There's a humanitarian emergency here in Puerto Rico," Rosselló told the AP. "This is an event without precedent."
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> The storm has contributed to at least 30 deaths, including 15 from the obliterated Caribbean island of Dominica, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced Thursday.
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> (MORE: Get the Latest on Maria's Track <https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-maria-category-5-leeward-islands-virgin-islands-puerto-rico>)
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> Skerrit addressed his nation from Antigua <https://www.facebook.com/abstvradio/videos/1518561254909760/> Thursday afternoon, saying the storm was "brutal" to the Caribbean island. He confirmed 15 deaths – a toll that's likely to rise as word comes from isolated villages – in the country, with at least 20 more missing.
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> At least two deaths were reported in Puerto Rico, including a man who died off the coast of the island Wednesday after a boat capsized <https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/bulletins/1b8858e> near Vieques, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. In a search and rescue effort by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy, a woman and two children also on the boat were rescued.
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> The rescue came after a distress call was received from the vessel <https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/bulletins/1b87643>, stating they were disabled and adrift in 20-foot seas and 120 mph winds. The Coast Guard said it lost contact with the vessel because of the weather.
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> The Coast Guard also said they were unable to retrieve the man's body from the capsized vessel.
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> Dominican Republic
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> Tens of thousands were left without power in the Dominican Republic as the deadly storm swamped the country with torrential rainfall.
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> "In the south zone, there are four circuits out of service, and about 40,613 customers, or 30 percent of the population <http://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/21/maria-leaves-tens-of-thousands-without-power-dominican-republic/>," Dominican Corporation of State Electrical Companies (CDEEE) Emergency Operations Center representative Ernesto Perez told DominicanToday.com.
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> He added that 45 of the east region’s 204 circuits were affected, which amounts to 100,000 customers. A downed power line between the towns of Playa Dorada and Cabarete has left the country's entire north coast without power.
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> @theWeatherboy <https://twitter.com/theWeatherboy> @weatherchannel <https://twitter.com/weatherchannel> @JimCantore <https://twitter.com/JimCantore> @mikeseidel <https://twitter.com/mikeseidel> @mikebettes <https://twitter.com/mikebettes> Samana north - east side of Dominican republic coastal Floding
> — luis (@buo01) 7:17 PM - Sep 21, 2017 <https://twitter.com/buo01/status/911006596184100865>
> The local Emergency Operations Center (COE) said 9,990 people were evacuated from their homes <https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/21/maria-bashes-dominican-republics-north-coast/> and most of the country was placed under flash flood and landslide warning, reports DominicanToday.com.
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> Puerto Rico
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> New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to Puerto Rico on Friday to assess damage from Hurricane Maria and bring supplies and assistance, including National Guard personnel, Black Hawk helicopters, state troopers and donated supplies of water, ready-to-eat meals, canned goods, flashlights, cots, blankets and pillows, and 10 electrical generators.
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> The storm smashed into the U.S. territory Wednesday morning as a Category 4 hurricane, twisting metal, snapping trees and utility poles and effectively paralyzing the island.
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> "Months and months and months and months are going to pass before we can recover from this," Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal city of Cataño, told the Associated Press.
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> On Thursday, the National Guard rescued dozens of families <https://twitter.com/yalvarezjaimes/status/910801127129612288> from rooftops in flooded Levittown, east of San Juan.
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> Trabajo de rescate en Levittown, TB por parte del personal de BTC. CC6 #AEEyacomenzamos <https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEEyacomenzamos?src=hash>— AEE (@AEEONLINE) 11:24 AM - Sep 21, 2017 <https://twitter.com/AEEONLINE/status/910887367099256837>· San Juan, USA <https://twitter.com/search?q=place%3A547fe91108bd744c>
> The extent of the damage is still unknown given that dozens of municipalities remained isolated and without communication, the AP reported.
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> On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued a disaster declaration for the territory that is home to 3.4 million people, making federal funding available to Puerto Ricans affected by the storm.
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> The director of the State Agency for Emergency Management and Disaster Management, Abner Gómez, said that 100 percent of the subscribers of the island's Electric Energy Authority are without power affected <http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/nota/sinluzel100porcientodelosabonadosenpuertorico-1246565/>, Primera Hora reported.
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> Extreme wind in Eyewall !!! #HurricaneMaria <https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneMaria?src=hash> #Fajardo <https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fajardo?src=hash>— Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) 8:18 AM - Sep 20, 2017 <https://twitter.com/MikeTheiss/status/910478159979646977>
> Those who sought shelter at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan were moved to the building's second and third floors. According to El Nuevo Dia, the exterior roof of the <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/carmenyulinmuchodolormuchadevastacion-2359202/>coliseum <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/carmenyulinmuchodolormuchadevastacion-2359202/> is now "in pieces." <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/carmenyulinmuchodolormuchadevastacion-2359202/>
> As the worst of the storm hit, people calling local radio stations reported that doors were flying off hinges and a water tank flew away in the island's southern region, the AP reports. Meanwhile, widespread flooding was reported in the capital of San Juan.
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> The storm has also done major damage to Cataño, a western suburb of the city. Mayor Felix Delgado told Nueva Dia the neighborhoods of Cucharilla, Puente <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/catanoestadestruido-2359205/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1505924940>Blanco <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/catanoestadestruido-2359205/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1505924940> and La Puntilla are "destroyed." <https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/catanoestadestruido-2359205/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1505924940> Delgado also reported damage in the Juana Matos neighborhood, where 80 percent of the 457 houses in the area "should no longer exist."
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> "This generation is going to build the new Cataño," Delgado said. "We have to build the new Cataño, after Maria."
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> U.S. Virgin Islands
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> Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp announced a 24-hour curfew Thursday morning on the four main U.S. Virgin Islands — St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island.
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> "Your presence on the roads during the curfew hours will only hamper clean-up efforts and could delay the distribution of critically needed supplies," Mapp said.
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> Communications were down across the islands <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/us/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico.html> Wednesday and the local government was working to assess the damage, Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency emergency operations supervisor Garry Green told the New York Times.
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> Christiansted, St. Croix #HurricaneMaria <https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneMaria?src=hash> #USVI <https://twitter.com/hashtag/USVI?src=hash> #VirginIslands <https://twitter.com/hashtag/VirginIslands?src=hash>— U.S. Virgin Islands (@usvirginislands) 1:27 PM - Sep 20, 2017 <https://twitter.com/usvirginislands/status/910556012335304704>
> Photos and videos posted to social media out of the U.S. Virgin Islands showed major flooding on St. Thomas <https://www.facebook.com/cuffin.cashmusic/videos/153162945275756/>. On St. Croix, WTJX reporter Bob Tonge said the roads were blocked with downed wires <https://www.facebook.com/wtjx/videos/10159325950595375/> and electrical poles.
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> WTJX also reported numerous roofs were ripped off buildings in Christiansted town. Roads there remain impassable.
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> Dominica
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> The Caribbean island of Dominica suffered catastrophic damage after the Category 5 hurricane slammed into the island Tuesday. At least 15 people are reported dead in the wake of the storm.
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> On Friday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said he would be traveling to New York to appeal to the United Nations for help <https://www.facebook.com/SupportRooseveltSkerrit/posts/1001565906651930>.
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> With communication systems down, including electricity, phone lines and internet, much of the information coming the devastated island is through HAM radio operators.
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> Initial images show a once tropical paradise that is home to more than 73,000 people turned into a wasteland of crushed homes and smashed vehicles. Areas with more than 90 percent of roofs ripped off of buildings are being reported.
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> Guadeloupe and Martinique
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> According to the Préfecture of Guadeloupe, one person was killed Tuesday morning on the French island <http://www.guadeloupe.pref.gouv.fr/content/download/12220/82763/file/19092017%20CP%20Premier%20bilan%20apr%C3%A8s%20MARIA.pdf> after being struck by a falling tree. Authorities note that the person did not heed orders to remain indoors. A second death was reported Wednesday by the AP. Two people are also reported missing after a boat sank near the island of La Désirade.
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> Guadeloupe's Préfecture office said most of the island's roads are impassable from downed trees and flooding. While the majority of the buildings remain structurally sound, numerous roofs were ripped off.
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> In another French territory, Martinique, authorities said some 70,000 homes were without power and 50,000 without water, but the airport at Fort-de-France was reopened Tuesday.
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> A resident surveys the damage on her property after Hurricane Maria made landfall, September 21, 2017 in the Guaynabo suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the "most devastating storm to hit the island this century." (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
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